Friday, July 15, 2011

"WHAT MATTERS IN THE MUPPET UNIVERSE ISN'T PERFECTION, BUT EXPRESSION":  A Friday thinkpiece from The Awl's Elizabeth Stevens on the post-Henson Muppets:
Let me preface my next statement by saying that I know it will seem ridiculous to the casual reader, inflammatory to a good many fans, and downright specious to the expert of rhetoric, but for me watching Steve Whitmire’s Kermit is akin to watching someone imitate a mythic and longed-for mother—my mother—wearing a my-mother costume in a my-mother dance routine. This person’s heart is in the right place, which only makes it worse. “You should be happy,” the person pleads with me, “Look, Biddy! Your mother is not gone! She is still here.” Now, no one would ever do that. No one in her right mind would think it would work. A child knows his mother’s voice like he knows whether it's water or air he's breathing. One chokes you and one gives you life. Strangely, I feel the same about Kermit. Whitmire is an amazing performer—especially as the lovable dog Sprocket on “Fraggle Rock”—but, when he's on screen as Kermit, I can feel my body reject it on a cellular level.

6 comments:

  1. isaac_spaceman11:31 AM

    She put her finger on my biggest fear for this project, that's for sure. 

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  2. christy in nyc1:03 PM

    The issue is far too important and complex for my puny brain to fully process.

    I really mean that.

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  3. Joseph J. Finn2:00 PM

    I'll just note that the best Muppets movie, A Muppet Christmas Carol, came out 2 years after the death of Jim Henson.

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  4. Adam C.2:29 PM

    Of course, so did the worst (according to my 7-y.o.), Muppet Treasure Island.

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  5. Joseph J. Finn5:13 PM

    So overall, it's a draw.  Remember, THe Great Muppet Caper came out during Jim Henson's lifetime.  So he wasn't perfect.

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